Page 123 of The Divine Lies We Weave

It is not that simple.

Because you can’t admit you’re in the wrong? That you made the biggest mistake of your life?

The Scorpion fell silent.

You can have it all. You’re just choosing to wallow. The Viperess forgave you, and she’d have you back in a heartbeat. Or was this not all just a big proclamation of love?

The Scorpion never responded, but that didn’t mean Rajesh didn’t feel a little accomplished at his silence.

“Captain?” Tanmay asked.

Rajesh tuned back into the scene. The conversation with the Scorpion still lingered in his skull, but he had a crew to help.

“Know I am sorry,” Rajesh started. “For everything. I should have kept her locked up, but I was worried it would anger her. Once you know love and heartbreak, you can tell me you know this pain. You can tell me you wouldn’t do the same.”

Tanmay opened his mouth when a fist jolted the table between them. His second mate jumped and spilled his drink all down his front.

Rajesh merely glanced up at the man standing over the table with brown eyes blistering with anger. A group of five stood behind him, all as muscled as the last. They flexed their arms, crossing them over with stern lips.

“Yes?” Rajesh asked casually. “Problem?”

“Problem?” The front man scoffed. “You are Nihikian forces. We just got rid of one unwanted lord from Jhuna Rin, we don’t need your kind here either. What are Gilded Thorns doing in our territory?”

Rajesh took a small headcount across the bar. Everyone else was too busy laughing or drinking to focus on them. A few people nearby took their business elsewhere. The men were for them.

“Having a drink.” Rajesh held his cup up to emphasize the point. “Is there an issue with having a drink?”

The man sneered, lip curling. “Think you’re funny, do you?”

“No. I was just responding to your obvious question.”

Tanmay nudged Rajesh under the table, but Rajesh ignored it.

He smiled, his senses clouded. If this man was looking for a fight, then a fight he would have—whether with words or punches. Rajesh was in the mood to break some skulls, or maybe even get a few bones broken himself. Nothing the Scorpion couldn’t fix.

“Get out,” the man fumed. “Leave or I will break your neck.”

“And here I was under the impression Kithium’s were welcoming,” Rajesh said. “Are we not all in the same war against the monsters?”

The man grabbed Rajesh by the shirt, hoisting him out of his seat.

Rajesh held his hands up as the thugs reached for their godsblades. “Easy. This is a clean shirt.”

“Outside. Now.”

“Don’t want to get your ass kicked in here?”

The man growled and tossed Rajesh back.

Rajesh landed at an awkward angle on the chair, and a shot of pain rode up his hip. He winced but hid his pain with a smile. “Fine, fine. Outside.”

The man left, leading them outside.

Warm night air slapped against Rajesh’s cheek as he stepped into the bustling street.

“Okay, now what are the rul⁠—?”

Before Rajesh could get another word out, pain shattered against his right jaw. He fell, face full of dirt, and white stars danced across his eyes. Someone else kicked him in the stomach, and he rolled over, wincing. The taste of metal seeped from his mouth, and his jaw groaned with a fiery pain.